Picking Apart Obama's Stock Portfolio

Editor's note: Nat Worden sat down with Wall Street Confidential's Gregg Greenberg to discuss the making of this story. Click here for the Webcast.

If presidential candidates were stocks, then Sen. Barack Obama might be the quintessential momentum play.

The young senator from Illinois stands as the current rock star candidate for the White House in 2008. Unlike his rivals, who are longtime fixtures on the national political scene, his reputation is pure. So, like a trendy new stock that is soaring on wings of speculation, either Obama can flame out under a long-term dose of public scrutiny or he can deliver enormous returns to believers.

A look at his recent investment record reveals that, like his supporters, Obama has a taste for betting on long shots. But two such bets placed in 2005 raise questions about the senator's judgment when it comes to buying stock in companies that are in line for federal funding.

In the second installment of TheStreet.com's review of the investing and Wall Street affiliations of 2008 presidential candidates , we peruse Obama's investment portfolio. (Click here to see the first installment on likely Republican candidate Rudy Giuliani.) The data are based on information reported on Stockpickr.com that is drawn from public filings combined with information provided by Obama's presidential campaign.

Obama's lean portfolio from 2005 -- the most recent data available to the public -- reflects his status as a newcomer and an outsider to the establishment of beltway presidential politics. The more conventional candidates, such as the early Democratic frontrunner, Sen. Hillary Clinton, and her Republican counterpart, Sen. John McCain, boast vast networks of investments that are typical of a public figure heading up a well-oiled political machine. Obama's investments, meanwhile, are mostly tied up in a short list of conservative mutual funds.